


Caring for your Woodelf

by SpaceAsthmatic



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, By Like a Week, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Legolas angst, Pre-Fellowship, poor Legolas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 03:37:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16966950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceAsthmatic/pseuds/SpaceAsthmatic
Summary: "Woodevles, for all of their charms, are not exactly known for arriving in the Valley in the best of moods. Greenwood is a busy kingdom, most are already exhausted and cranky before they even begin the journey here." It was several days after his arrival in Rivendell before Legolas met the hobbits, sometimes you need a bit of TLC from your friends before making new ones.





	Caring for your Woodelf

"Do you think he will come?"

Aragorn tried to stifle his grin around his pipe, "Oh yes Bilbo, he will come."

Elladan sniffed at him from across the table, "We'll see about that."

"Yes. We will."

Bilbo tuned to the other identical elf, the younger of the two if he remembered correctly, "What do you think Elrohir?"

The elf in question looked up from his chess game with Glorfindel, one he happened to be losing miserably. There were very few people in all of Imladris that could beat Glorfindel in chess, but that did not mean it stopped the twins from trying. Time and time again, regardless of the humiliating defeat they suffered every time. "I think I am staying out of it, keep it between the two of them."

"I'm not sure if it matters to anyone," Glorfindel commented absently while taking one of Elrohir's knights with a flick of his wrist, "But I agree with Estel."

"Ha!" This time the human made no effort to hide his smile, "Might as well just pay up now."

"Not until I see that babbling blonde head ride through the gates!"

"I'm sorry," Frodo interrupted politely from the cluster of hobbits, "Will who be coming?"

Bilbo patted his nephew excitedly on the arm, "Legolas, a representative for the Elvenking. You will get along nicely."

"In a day or two." Elladan laughed, quickly joined by the other valley residents.

Frodo frowned, "Why in a day or two?"

The others did not seem to have a solid idea of what to say so Aragorn did, "Woodevles, for all of their charms, are not exactly known for arriving in the Valley in the best of moods. Greenwood is a busy kingdom, most are already exhausted and cranky before they even begin the journey here."

"You cannot fault them," Glorfindel defended, taking another one of Elrohir's pieces, "They are tired, hungry, and soar by the time they reach us. You are not much better when you return from the wilds, by the way, tread carefully."

Looking a little offended at having been brought into the discussion Aragorn held up his hands in surrender, "I was not faulting any of them for anything."

The elf did not look convinced but said nothing to the man and only to the opponent sitting across form him, "Check mate."

Elrohir slouched back in his chare obviously sulking but not surprised at his defeat, "But he will be back to his cheerful self after a little food, rest, and caring company. We are good at caring for our Woodelf, you could say we have a routine, all will be well."

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Aragorn had expected Legolas to come, known that he would. When he had brought Gollum to Thranduil he had told the King of Gandalf's suspicions about the Hobbits ring, unfortunately Legolas himself had been away from the stronghold and bringing him back to see his friend had been out of the question. But both the King and the Prince would have known what the council was about, they would not keep themselves isolated from this discussion.

Even if the Thranduil tried, his son would not let him.

He had expected Legolas to come, he had just not been expecting him to arrive that night. It seemed as though he had only just tucked himself into bed when he was rudely woken by Elladan throwing his owed bag of coins solidly into his chest. "Come on now, Legolas will be here any moment. Glorfindel rode out to meet him an hour ago."

Blinking sleep from his eyes Aragorn frowned, "You could have woken me then."

"Growing boys and Starving Rangers alike need all the sleep they can get, hurry up or I am leaving without you."

As swift, as he could, Aragorn threw on the closest items of clothing he could find and shoved his feet in his boots, first on the wrong sides but he quickly corrected himself, "Okay, okay, let's go!"

Elladan rushed from the room, his little brother hot on his heels. Aragorn knew that if he wanted to Elladan could have reached the gates several minutes before him, even if he ran, but there seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the twins and Legolas to not use any of their elven advantages against him, and so he kept Elladan pace suitable for human legs.

By the time the two arrived Legolas had already dismounted and was currently being crushed in an excited and loving embrace from Arwen, she clung to him so tightly her feet barely even touched the ground. Seizing the opportunity presented to them, one twin went on either side of the embracing pair and squished them into an even tighter embrace, causing Legolas to groan in protest.

Although Glorfindel we grinning at Legolas' predicament he defended him nonetheless, "Alright, that's enough. Let the elfling breath."

Obediently the twin released their death grip and after another moment so did Arwen, all three of them with smiles so wide it could give Glorfindel a run for his money. She placed both hands on either side of Legolas' face and brought his forehead to touch her own, where the two rested for a moment. So long had Arwen been living in Lorien that it had likely been a few centuries since she had last seen her dear friend.

Pulling back from him she frowned a little, and smoothed some of the hair form his face, "Do not take this the wrong way Leaf, but you look terrible."

Legolas laughed brightly, regardless of the fact he had just been insulted, "Well that's good, I would hate to feel this terrible and keep it my little secret." Then he appeared to notice the human's arrival for the first time, "Estel!"

A moment later Aragorn found himself with an armful of woodelf and a face-full of blonde hair, " It's so good to see you! I am sorry I missed you on your last visit to Greenwood, I was-"Legolas paused as if he was about to say something he shouldn't and thought better of it, "Indisposed elsewhere."

"I know, your father told me. He didn't seem very happy with you about it." Legolas shrugged with indifference to his father's anger, perhaps the only elf in all of Arda that could do that, "But he wouldn't tell me where it was you had gone."

"It's unimportant."

Aragorn got a distinct impression that that was an outright lie, but knew that pressing the issue would only make him less likely to open up about whatever had happened. So instead of questioning him, he appraised his friend's appearance, "Arwen's right, you do look terrible."

"You wonder why I have not been visiting as much as I used to, yet when I do all I get is insulted. And they say us Silvan Elves lack propriety." He feigned offense, but didn't put much effort into the act and soon the smile at slipped back onto his face, "Your father has already accused me of not taking care of myself well enough."

"Speaking of our wonderfully concerned Lord," Glorfindel broke in, steering Legolas in the direction of the house and pushing him forward, "He is waiting for you in the healing wing for a complete physical."

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Elrond tried to keep the frown from his face as Legolas wandered his way into the healing ward, Glorfindel strolling behind him leisurely to ensure that he actually arrived at his destination. Given the opportunity, Legolas would vanish somewhere until he was assured he would not be forced to endure a physical or any of teas Elrond deemed necessary he drink.

So over time, it had become Glorfindel's job to ensure that he was not given the opportunity.

It seemed Legolas looked and felt worse and worse every time he saw him, and it filled him with a deep concern. He could not fault him, or Thranduil for this, there was nothing to be done. Wars did not stop when the soldiers were tired, injured or lonely. Wars stopped for nobody, but it did not hurt his heart any less to see the usually bright eyes so dull and his smile so forced.

However, he knew that the pain he felt at the sight was nowhere near the pain Thranduil felt every time he looked upon his son. He knew that for certain, and so he would do all that he could to help the Prince. And he knew the rest of his family would too.

Before Legolas even had the opportunity to complain, Elrond handed him a mug of tea, which Legolas glared at with every ounce of disdain he had within him, "Is there at least honey in it?"

"Arnt you getting too old to have honey added for you to drink it?"

Huge blue eyes clouded with exhaustion and now wounded disbelief bore into him, voice the picture of innocence "No."

"Yes, there's honey in it. Almost more honey than herbs at this point, is that to your satisfaction?"

Mirth replaced disbelief, "If it were to my satisfaction there would be no herbs, and it would be wine."

Glorfindel threw his head back in laughter, "Drink Elrond's foul liquids and that can be arranged."

Legolas sniffed at the substance in the cup as if he might be able to guess its contents or purpose. Elrond knew he never would be able to, for it had many purposes and had been mixed with at least a dozen herbs in uses ranging from helping him sleep, replacing lacking vitamins, and pain relief. All were necessary, and so he crossed his arms and waited for the Prince to choke it down.

Legolas was always so dramatic about any sort of medical treatment, consumables more so than anything else.

Plugging his nose and scrunching his eye shut Legolas drank down the tea as fast as he could and then stuck out his tongue and gagged as soon as his mouth was empty. He gave Elrond a withering look that was worthy of his father, "Not enough honey."

Elrond struggled to keep the smile form his face as he took the cup back, and Glorfindel gave him one full of a strong wine, which Legolas swished around his mouth and gargled to rid himself of the taste. Then he sighed and passed the cup back to the older elf, "Alright let's get his over with."

The young prince swiftly stripped down to his underclothes, leaving himself mostly bare for the inspection of the two older elves, both of whom were displeased with what they found. There were several new scars since Elrond had last seen him, the most obvious of which was one that had come from a burn that covered most of his chest and stomach, several bruises covered his ribs, and there was still a set of stitches on his left thigh that appeared to have come from a poisoned arrow wound. Elrond recognized the stitches as Thranduil's handiwork immediately.

As well as the new injuries, he obviously had not been eating enough for the number of calories he was burning and as a consequence nearly every muscle in his body was prominent and he was too thin, even for a lithe woodelf.

Elrond said nothing about any of his observations but sent to work at examining him further, Glorfindel, who had hopped on top of a nearby counter was the picture of concerned love, "Oh Legolas."

Somehow, the prince managed to grow even more tense at the words than he had been under their collective scrutiny, but he said nothing.

Elrond did not need the healer's touch and sense to know that it was not fine, nothing was fine. While the physical wounds might have healed his fae still carried the weight of what his body had endured, "What happened?"

Legolas swallowed hard, his face perfectly emotionless but Elrond could sense the spike of anxiety and fear from him, "They tried to burn us, set fires around us so we could not escape. A tree fell on me. It isn't important, its healed now. It's fine."

Glorfindel shook his head sadly, his heart breaking for the young elf, "No, Legolas, it isn't fine."

His blue eyes flashed with anger, "Even if that were true, what do you expect me to do about it? If you have any suggestions or recommendations I'm all ears, Lord Glorfindel. Please, enlighten me."

"I have no solutions to offer you that I have not offered to your father. However, I know that pretending your fine when you aren't will only make things much worse for you in the long run."

"You're assuming there still is a long run for me."

Before his friend had a chance to respond Elrond cut into their conversation smoothly, "I think that is quite enough."

Now was not the time for such discussions, not when Legolas was in such a foul mood as a resting state. He was too tired, too hungry, too sore, and too overworked right now for it to be productive for anybody. All that would happen would be a front row show of an example of exactly how much of his father's temper he had inherited, and that would only cause him to feel guilt and shame once he calmed down. Waiting until he was much more himself was the best option for everyone involved.

No, now was not the time. If Glorfindel wished to continue this conversation later that was up to him, but as of right now Elrond considered the matter closed.

The Lord of the Valley finished the rest of his examination in silence, finding nothing that he could treat at the moment he was satisfied to let the prince leave, "Let's get you some food."

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The rest of the family was waiting for Legolas to join them in the gardens, where Arwen and Elrohir had assembled the biggest picnic meal they could manage on such short notice, not that it mattered much what it was for Legolas would have probably eaten his own leg if he needed to. Everyone except for Aragorn heard his stomach growl the moment he stepped outside.

The prince all but drooled, "It smells amazing."

Elrohir patted the empty spot next to him, directly in front of where most of the food was located, "Well that's good because it's all for you."

"That is the best sentence I have heard in weeks." With a slight groan as his aching body protested at the moment, he sank to the ground and immediately shoved an entire bun into his mouth. Had he not been so worried at the prospect of him choking and dying, Elrohir might have been impressed.

"Don't forget to chew, Princeling, or you might not get to enjoy the rest of your meal."

Legolas shrugged, accepting a bowl heaped with delicious foods from Arwen, "So bet it."

Elrohir wasn't convinced that Legolas had even swallowed the bread before he began shoveling steamed vegetables and dried meat into his mouth as well. Generally speaking, his manners were impeccable, curtosy of his father, however, the children of Lord Elrond had long ago been removed from the list of Elves he displayed manners for. If they had been around anyone else there was no way the Prince would be acting as such.

It was touching in a way, although perhaps slightly alarming to witness. It never ceased to amaze him exactly how much, and how quickly, the Prince could pack away his food. Almost like a starved dog who was offered a piece of meat, not knowing if the offeror was going to change his mind or not.

"How are you? And your Ada?"

Legolas did not answer right away but continued to shovel food into himself at alarming rates, Elrohir wasn't sure if it was because he was genuinely too busy eating or if he was deciding exactly what and how much to tell them. He had grown much more secretive the last century or two, carefully censoring his answers at times. It was impossible to tell if this was on his father's orders or a decision he made by himself, but either way, it always caused a pit of worry. There was nothing more concerning than somebody who was obviously not okay insisting that they were.

Legolas swallowed the impressive amount of food he had stuffed into his mouth, "Ada is… tired. He has been working very hard lately, it feels as if I barely get to see him anymore. Its gotten so bad we've had to resort to writing one another letters." He stuffed a few more pieces of fruit into his mouth, "But I suppose it cannot be helped. So tell me about these Hobbits, Estel."

Elrohir did not miss that Legolas had only answered one of the two questions, but did not say anything.

Aragorn's eyes were narrowed at their friend, obviously noticing the same things his brother had. But also like his brother, he did not point it out, "You remember Bilbo, right?"

Apparently finally done with his meal, Legolas laid down on the grass and folded his arms behind his head, "Bilbo who helped a bunch of dwarves escapes from my home, woke a dragon who nearly set me on fire, and then stole the Arkenstone? Yes, I vaguely recall Bilbo."

The response was snarkier than it needed to be, but none of them would hold that against him. It was expected, after all. And considering how lovely he usually was, the occasional snapping was justified. "Well, its his nephew and his friends. They're very excited to meet you, especially Sam. I think you'll enjoy his company."

They all waited for some sort of response but got none. Not even so much as a twitch of a toe, at first they weren't sure if he was just ignoring them or not, it would not be the first time and probably not the last. It was Elladan who solved the mystery first, "He fell asleep, didn't he?"

Arwen leaned over Aragorn to peer at Legolas face, which held the kind of peace it only did in sleep, complete with softly closed eyes as if he were a mortal. "Yes, he did."

Elrohir noticed his father's approach first, he must have been waiting near the entrance of the garden for this very thing to happen, "Did you drug him, Adar?"

Elrond had the nerve to look offended, considering how common of an occurrence it was for him to slip a sleeping herb into peoples drinks when he thought it necessary. He had done it to all of his children several times, and Glorfindel at least a hundred, "No. I did not. I did not need to, it would appear."

All four of his children narrowed their eyes at him suspiciously, obviously not believing him, but it was Elladan who spoke for them all, "Then why were you waiting for him to fall asleep."

"Oh, please. Even a blind fool could see how tired he was, it was only a matter of time."

"And?" Arwen prompted, mimicking her fathers raised eyebrow

"And I might have probed a little during his examination. But that is not the point. The point," He bent down and lifted Legolas very, very gently into his arms, a melena of practice of carrying his own children and inured warriors ensured that the Prince did not so much as stir, "Is that it is time to take our dear woodelf to bed."

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Arwen could hear Legolas tossing and turning from her room, she had been listening to it for at least an hour before she was certain he would not be able to fall back asleep on his own. Quietly she slipped from her room and across the hall where she knocked very, very softly on his door.

"Yes?"

She pushed the door open and slipped inside, closing the door silently behind her, "Hello."

His bed was an absolute mess, all the sheets had been untucked and his blanket was completely sideways, a testament to all of the tossing and turning she had heard. He rolled over to look at her, giving her an incredibly tired smile paired with an equally exhausted voice, "Hi."

"I heard you tossing and turning from my room."

"Sorry, I'll try to be quite."

She frowned at him, "That isn't what I meant."

Without waiting for him to say anything she crossed the room and pulled the covers of his bed and righted them for him, then she carefully tucked the sheet back into its proper place, his blue eyes followed her but he did not say anything. Next, she moved back to the head of the bed and poked gently at his side until he scooted back on the bed and towards the wall.

Once there was enough room she climbed into bed next to him and pulled the covers up to their chins. The bed was small, very much not made for two people and so they were pressed up against one another in order to fit. But this his had been his room since he had first visited Imladris, and for some reason unknown to her he insisted on keeping it even if her father offered him a better room with every visit. He simply wasn't interested, and so for the most part, Elrond had stopped offering.

"I missed you."

And she had, dearly. Her brothers loved him dearly as well, of this she was certain. But Elladan and Elrohir were nearly at their majority when Arwen and Legolas were born, and as a consequence the two of them had always been practically close. They had spent countless summer days playing in the valley, and several running beneath his tree's. When they were separated they wrote one another letter almost constantly, but it was not the same as seeing him in person, and it had been far too long since she had seen him.

There had, at one point, been many jokes about the two of them getting married one day. The two of them had always known it would never happen, they loved each other truly and deeply but not in the way one loves their partner.

Legolas shifted next to her, rolling onto his side and throwing and arm across her stomach, "I missed you too. Every time I visited while you were in Lorien it felt like something was missing. Besides, then I had to spend all of my time with your brothers."

"A truly terrible fate. I am deeply sorry for your suffering."

"Sorry doesn't always take the pain away."

"You sound like your father."

"I'm fairly certain I got that expression from  _your_  father."

"The lines blur sometimes."

Legolas shifted again, nearly burying his face into her shoulder and sighed heavily. If it had been anybody other than Legolas, she might have been worried about being discovered nestled in bed with him at such a late hour. But it was Legolas, and even if her father was to walk into the room that exact moment, there was no way he would be angry. In fact, there was a chance that he might thank her for looking after him so well the next morning.

"Does Elrond know you and Estel have already promised yourselves to one another yet?"

Had he not been so tired she might have flicked him in the nose, "No. And keep your voice down."

She could feel rather than see him roll his eyes, "He isn't stupid, sweet Evenstar."

The urge to flick him returned. "I'm not suggesting he is."

"Mhmm. He's going to find out sooner or later. I think it would be better to find out sooner, rather than later."

"I know, I know. Grandmother has been giving me that speech for months, Grandfather too."

"Maybe you should listen to them."

"I hardly think you're the one I should be taking advice when it comes to romantic relationships, do you?"

Even though she could not see him, she could feel his face flush scarlet against her skin, "I told her."

Had Legolas not had a grip on her hip she might have fallen out of bed, "What? Really?"

His face grew warm against her skin, if possible, "Ada gave me a very convincing pep talk and a truly remarkable amount of wine at a Yule celebration once."

"Leaf!" She nearly squealed in excitement, "That's amazing! I've never gotten a pep talk form the Elvenking but I imagine its incredibly inspirational."

Legolas heaved a mighty yawn and shifted positions slightly again, "Is it bad that I already miss her?'

She pressed a loving kiss to his cheek, "No, not at all. Is that why you can't sleep?"

He shook his head softly, his stray hairs tickling her face a bit, "No. Well, at least not the only reason. It's just… hard to sleep. And stay asleep."

Arwen was under no allusions, she was sheltered. Especially compared the Greenwood elves, but between her father, brothers, grandparents, and Glorfindel they had assured she suffered the least amount of heartbreak and troubles as possible. But she knew some of the suffering they all experienced, those who did not have the same luxuries as her. There had been countless nights that she heard her mother singing her father to sleep, and continue singing to him until the morning light shown through the window in the morning. Sometimes it was the only way he would sleep.

"Do you want me to sing to you? Maybe it will help you sleep."

"That would be very nice."

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It was past mid-afternoon when Legolas finally began stirring once more. Elladan closed his book and prepared himself to calm his friend back to sleep if he needed it, he himself had woken an hour or two past sunrise to the pleasant sound of his sisters singing voice echoing through the halls. He had gone to investigate exactly why she was singing so early and tracked her to Legolas' room, he was sleeping soundly in her lap while she gently ran her finger through his hair.

Being the 'protective' older brother he was, he had instantly ordered her to bed and swore to watch over the sleeping prince in her absence. She had been reluctant to leave at first, but he had insisted upon it and so begrudgingly she eventually left the room. Kissing Legolas on the head and tucking the blankets around him carefully on her way.

It appeared his sleep had been disturbed on several occasions, but Elladan had practice at soothing troubled minds. Sleeping or otherwise, and somehow, thankfully, Legolas was able to get the rest he so desperately needed.

His father had brought him breakfast, and Glorfindel lunch, so he never had to leave his post. Just in case.

With a mighty yawn, piercing blue eyes which were much more alert than the day before opened, and he mumbled into the pillow more than to Elladan, "Good morning."

"Good afternoon, Princeling. Are you hungry?"

Legolas' eyes drifted closed again for a moment and Elladan resigned himself to several more hours of his watch, but soon they opened once more. "Not hungry enough to get out of bed."

His father, ever the prepared Lord had long ago brought a meal for Legolas to devour once he woke up, which Elladan picked up off the table and set it on the nightstand next to the younger elf, "Fear not. For the food has come to you."

"Your father is too good to me."

"Probably."

Usually, Legolas would have a sarcastic response to that, but the food had is full and undivided attention, almost as much as the meal he had eaten in the garden. At least he was eating.

"What time is it?" He asked around a mouthful of sandwich, unable to tell by the sun since the blinds had been pulled tightly closed.

"A few hours until sunset, we wanted to let you sleep as long as possible."

"I appreciate it."

The two sat in silence for some time, while Legolas continued to shove food into his mouth and swallow as quickly as he could, while Elladan amused himself with humming the son Arwen had been singing earlier.

Once he was finished his meal Legolas snuggled himself back into the bed, looking ready to fall back asleep for a few more hours, "Tired still?"

"Honestly Elladan," he yawned, rubbing at his eyes, "I do not remember the last time I wasn't tired."

The twin shrugged, "So go back to sleep."

"I have slept all day."

"And you're still tired, so go back to sleep. Nobody is judging you. Adar has already contemplated giving you a sleeping tea."

This empty threat had the desired effect, and blue eyes widened in what could only be described as fear, "If I go back to sleep, will he leave me alone with his foul drinks?"

He struggled to keep from smirking, "Probably,"

A second later Legolas had closed his eyes again, pulling the covers up to his chin. Willing to do anything to keep from drinking any more dreadful teas. Without being asked Elladan began reading his book out loud softly, knowing the constant noise would help the Prince stay asleep.

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It was not often the tree's choose to speak to him, he could sense them like most elves, but rarely could he hear their song and every more rarely their voices. He often wondered what it was like for the Silvan Elves, to hear the voices of the tree's in their heads as often as their own thoughts. Usually, not hearing their voice did not bother him, but there was certain times, such as when Thranduil and Legolas struggled to stifle their laughter even though no words had been spoken, that he wished he could hear them.

There had been perhaps a dozen times since he had been brought back to middle earth that he heard them clearly, and it was for this reason that he jumped when he heard the voice in his head that very much did not belong to any elf nor human,  _"Come."_

Setting down his quill, Glorfindel blinked in surprise, "Come where?"

" _Follow us."_

"How am I –" His question was stopped short when he felt a great tug on his fae, pulling him forwards and to the balcony of his study. Tree's did not choose to speak to him often, so when they did, he tired to make a habit of not ignoring them.

And so he stood up and obeyed the command from the foliage that usually ignored him, and made his way to his balcony where he stepped out to where it overlooked much of the valley. He certainly hoped the tree's planned to lead him more specifically to where they wanted him to go.

It was late afternoon, and for the most part, the valley was quite. Estel and Arwen were strolling through the far gardens, while the Hobbits were clustered around Bilbo under a tree listening to his stories. Several other elves were out and about, but Glorfindel knew that the trees did not want him to pay attention to them.

No, there was only one elf in the valley that the tree's cared enough about to pull him from his work.

The collective pull slowly faded, but one tree on particular continued to urge him forward. A great beech tree' with leaves huge and green, growing by itself close to the gates of the city, it was surrounded on three sides by a pond and as such was a rather quite location. He did not see Legolas, for if a woodelf wished to vanish in a tree they would, but he knew he would find him there.

" _Please."_

"Alright, alright, I'm coming."

Making his way to the stairs and through all the corridors seemed like too much work, so the Balrog-slayer simply swung his legs over the side of the balcony and jumped down to the grass below. Had any human attempted such a thing, there was a very good chance they would have broken one or both of their ankles. But he was not human, thankfully, and so he landed lighter than a cat and began to breeze his way over the tree.

Seemingly satisfied that they had gotten what they wanted, the tree's vanished from his head and the only voice left in his mind was his own.

Coming to stand beneath the tree he looked up, but still did not see the elfling. But he could sense him. And so he swung himself up and into the tree, climbing higher and higher until he finally spotted him, curled carefully in on himself against the trunk of the tree on a precariously thin branch.

His knees were pulled up to his chest with his arms folded over them, with his head buried on top. The tree must have warned him that he was no longer alone because he muttered miserably into his arms before Glorfindel even had a chance to speak, "I'm sorry about what I said. I know you were just trying to help. My reaction was uncalled for, and I know it."

It appeared the elfing was finally feeling himself again, that was good. "It takes much, much more than that to hurt my feelings Legolas, do not worry about it."

Legolas nodded softly into his arms, which was surprising. For he usually gave his conversation partners his full and undivided attention.

Mabe, he wasn't quite back to himself just yet.

"What's wrong, little one?"

Legolas shrugged half-heartedly, still not raising his head.

"Legolas."

"It's nothing."

"Greenleaf."

Thankfully, 'the tone' brought a response about when he hadn't fully been expecting one, "I'm so tired of being tied. I'm so tired of never seeing my Ada anymore, or my friends, or my bed. I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of hurting, I'm tired of watching my warriors injured or dead. I'm tired of funerals, and tears, and pain. I'm tired of being angry. I'm so tired, Glorfindel. I'm so tired and I don't know what to do about it."

It was then that the older elf realized the only reason Legolas hadn't looked at him before this was because he was crying, and suddenly he was glad the tree's had startled him so, for he already hated to know that Legolas had been sitting here by himself wallowing in his own grief.

But this was the kind of grief that one could not fix, not really. Once could give encouragement and advice, perhaps lie and assure him that everything would be fine. But Legolas would see through this, he knew he would, and so Glorfindel reached up to pull gently on the younger elfs leg.

Seemingly understanding what he wanted, Legolas uncurled himself and slipped form his branch and down to the one Glorfindel had settled himself in. The moment the prince had settled himself, tears raining from his eyes, the older elf crushed him in one of the fiercest embraces he had given in several years and nearly pulled the much younger elf into his lap in the process.

Legolas' tears changed into hiccupped sobs, and he burred his face in the older elfs chest without hesitation. Sometimes, with this sort of grief, one just had to experience it, but he did not have to experience it alone.

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"So," Bilbo asked, reaching for the butter to spread across his toast at breakfast the next morning, "Did he come?

Aragorn grinned at the ancient hobbit and jingled his winnings from the bet with his brother smugly, "Oh yes, he arrived. That very night, to be exact."

"Oh good! I am glad, it will be nice to see him again. And Sam is dying to meet him."

As usual, the poor gardener flushed red at being brought to attention during any conversation, especially with elves at the table, "Speaking of cranky woodelves." Aragorn muttered to nobody in particular, waving his hands in the air to attractive the new elves arrival.

Cheerfully Legolas made his way over to the table, dropping lightly into the empty spot beside Aragorn, Good morning! Bilbo, it is wonderful to see you again, these must be your nephew and his friends."

Sam was already flushing before Bilbo could even get to the introductions, and Aragorn seized his chance when the older hobbits stopped for a breath several minutes later, "Feeling better, mellon-nin?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
